Arrangements of this type are required especially in aircraft, where not only large quantities of electrical equipment with very different information signals and disturbance sensitivities are arranged in a relatively confined space, but also where the possibility of mutual interaction must be reliably eliminated. More specifically, such installations must safely resist the effects of lightning strikes, which otherwise greatly threaten electronic equipment of this kind.
Because of this, an already known method provides equipping electrical connecting cables in aircraft, especially complete cable harnesses, with shielding from metallic conducting material, and connecting the shielding, respectively, at its ends with the housings of the electrical devices or with especially provided leads to ground or equivalent reference potential, such as the aircraft fuselage. Generally, a hose-shaped braiding consisting of individual metal strands is utilized for this purpose which, in case of current carrying contact plugs, is connected with the metallic plug housing at the cable ends. Also, the connection of this braiding with provided charge elimination points frequently occurs by means of separate hose-type clamps which surround the braiding at the cable ends and from which a separate line, which is also designated as a "pig tail", is connected to the charge elimination point.
A disadvantage of these known shielding means is that the terminal and connector elements used therein are not only relatively costly in their fabrication and have a comparatively high inherent waste, but their installation as well, meaning the achievement of a mechanically and electrically satisfactory connection with the shielding braiding, requires a considerable expenditure of time.